Summary

Such Stuff as Dreams: The Psychology of Fiction explores how fiction works in the brains and imagination of both readers and writers.

Demonstrates how reading fiction can contribute to a greater understanding of, and the ability to change, ourselvesInformed by the latest psychological research which focuses on, for example, how identification with fictional characters occurs, and how literature can improve social abilitiesExplores traditional aspects of fiction, including character, plot, setting, and theme, as well as a number of classic techniques, such as metaphor, metonymy, defamiliarization, and cuesIncludes extensive end-notes, which ground the work in psychological studiesFeatures excerpts from fiction, which are discussed throughout the text, including works by William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Kate Chopin, Anton Chekhov, James Baldwin, and others